NORFOLK, Va. — Outside of vaccines, there’s no magical solution to avoid things like the flu.
But according to a new study published in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, washing your hands reduces your chances of contracting a respiratory illness by 54 percent.
You probably know the hand-washing basics, but you may be missing out on the benefits of washing your hands properly.
For starters, you need to wash at least 20 seconds to get rid of bacteria. Also, make sure you scrub outside of the water first so you’re not washing the soap away.
Here is a good order to follow for scrubbing: palm to palm, fingers interlaced, back of hands, back of fingers, fingernails and then wrists.
The temperature of the water doesn’t matter as much as you may think. Hot water would have to be boiling to make a significant difference, but warm water does help even out the soap on your hands.
Drying off your hands properly is an important step.
You can use paper towels or an air dryer. But simply shaking them off and walking away with moist hands does more harm than good. You’re just making it easier for germs to latch onto moist areas.
And before you leave a public bathroom try and grab a paper towel for the door handle; you don’t know if the person before you washed their hands.